YourStoryIs theEssay.
One-on-one coaching that turns the Common App's 650 words from a blinking cursor into the essay that gets the envelope ripped open.
"this is your
opening line."
— your coach
94%
admitted to a
top-choice school
"What if I haven't done anything impressive?"
Every admissions officer has read 800 essays about mission trips and varsity seasons. The ones they remember are about the Tuesday afternoon you can't stop thinking about. Ordinary moments, rendered precisely, are the rarest thing in the pile.
"the tote bag is the essay"
I have always been passionate about community service. Last summer, I volunteered at a local food bank every weekend. I learned a lot about giving back and helping those less fortunate than myself.
First draft
The woman in line 7 always brought her own bag — a reusable tote with a faded sunflower printed on it. I started saving the good bread for her. I don't know her name. I don't know if she noticed. But every Thursday at 10 a.m., I was there, and so was she, and that felt like something.
After one session
"How personal is too personal?"
There's a difference between vulnerable and exposed. The best college essays don't ask the reader to feel sorry for you — they invite the reader into a specific room in your mind. You choose which room. We find the door together.
"one detail, two worlds"
My parents' divorce was the hardest thing I've ever been through. It changed me as a person and made me realize what really matters in life. I became more resilient and learned to adapt to difficult situations.
First draft
I started keeping a second toothbrush at Dad's. A small thing. But there's something about that toothbrush — the way it just sits there, pink against white porcelain, belonging nowhere and everywhere — that taught me more about identity than any class I've taken.
After one session
"Can you just tell me what to write?"
I could. But you'd hear it. Admissions officers read 40 essays a day. They know in the first sentence whether the words belong to the student or to someone who wanted to be helpful. My job isn't to write your essay. It's to ask the question that makes you write the sentence only you could write.
"the question is the draft"
Chess taught me the importance of strategic thinking and planning ahead. Each move has consequences, and I learned to think several steps in advance, a skill that applies to all areas of life.
What the student wrote
"Tell me about the worst game you ever played. Not the loss — the moment you knew you'd already lost but kept moving pieces anyway. What were you thinking about?" [She wrote for eleven minutes straight. That became her essay.]
The question I asked instead
Your essay is not your résumé.
Specificity is the only style that matters.
The moment you almost left out is usually the essay.
Admissions officers read 40 essays a day.
The sentence you're afraid to write is often the right one.
Ordinary moments, rendered precisely, are rare.
This is what one session feels like.
Book a Free Strategy CallWhat they said
after the envelope opened.
"I rewrote my essay four times on my own and hated all of them. After one session, I had a sentence I actually wanted to read out loud. That's when I knew it was right."
Maya Okonkwo
Class of 2025
Admitted to Northwestern
"As a parent, I was the one who found Draft. My daughter was the one who made me realize I'd been trying to edit her voice out of the essay. The coach helped her put it back in."
Sandra Reyes
Parent
Son admitted to Middlebury
"I kept saying I had nothing to write about. The coach asked me what I did when I was anxious. I said I reorganized my bookshelf. She said, "That's your essay." It was."
James Whitfield
Class of 2025
Admitted to UVA
"I refer students to Draft when I know they need more than I can give them in a 20-minute counselor meeting. Every student I've referred has come back with something I would have been proud to write."
Priya Nair
School Counselor, Westview High
12 referrals, 12 strong essays
"My kid is not a writer. He's a math kid who plays bass guitar and hates English class. His essay was the best thing he'd ever written. The admissions office at Colby mentioned it specifically."
David Chen
Parent
Son admitted to Colby
The first session starts
with one question.
Two paths in. One for students ready to book. One for parents who want to read the work first.
Book a Free Strategy Call
45 minutes. No pitch. Just the question that starts the essay.
5 Opening Lines
That Actually Worked
Real first sentences from real essays that got students into Northwestern, Middlebury, Colby, UVA, and Williams. With a note on why each one worked.
- The sentence that starts in the middle of a moment
- The sentence that admits something small
- The sentence that asks a question and answers it wrong
- The sentence that names the thing everyone ignores
- The sentence that earns its metaphor
"I read the PDF on a Sunday night. By Monday morning I knew what my essay was about. I hadn't figured that out in three months of trying."
— Amara Diallo, Class of 2025, admitted to Williams